Team TIBCO riders to chase national championships this weekend

Team TIBCO/To the Top will break from the regular USA Cycling National Race Calendar to contest both the Canadian and United States National Cycling Championships. Racing for both countries begin Thursday.

For the U.S. Championships, the Team will be in hot, humid Augusta, Georgia. There will be no green jackets given out, but the Team’s riders will compete for the honor of wearing the red, white and blue in time trials, road races and criteriums for the next 12 months.

“The weather will definitely be a factor,” said Team Directeur Sportif/Manager Lisa Hunt. ”On paper, the road race course doesn’t look hard, but the short hills will tire out the legs. It could be a race of attrition, especially due to the heat.

Team TIBCO’s six American riders – Megan Guarnier, Meredith Miller, Kendall Ryan, Samantha Schneider, Carmen Small and Jennifer Wheeler – will all line up for the road race and criterium, while Guarnier, Miller, Small and Wheeler will take on the time trial, the weekend’s first event.

We have a strong team,” Hunt said, “and I’m confident we’ll have great races while we’re there.”

Farther North. Team TIBCO’s Canadian riders – Joëlle Numainville, Tara Whitten and Erinne Willock – will gather in Burlington, Ontario, on the west shore of Lake Ontario, for that country’s national championships.

Numainville will be out to defend her national road championship, while Whitten will be looking for her second time trial championship. Willock has been on the podium at Nationals, but will be looking for her first jersey. She comes into Nationals off a strong 2nd overall at the Nature Valley Grand Prix last weekend, and since returning from a broken scapula, her form has gotten progressively better.

“I’m feeling good going into Nationals,” she said. “This week has put more confidence into me. My form is coming back. I usually go pretty well after a stage race.”

Numainville also comes into the weekend the great form that has seen her rack up a number of wins and podiums in the past month.

“Joëlle showed at Nature Valley and the Liberty Classic that she is climbing well,” Willock said. “She was with us until one lap to go at Stillwater Sunday. Saturday, she was climbing with the top five riders in the field. With the three of us at Nationals, we should be really strong.”